My Baby doesn't show any interest

[arusha]

Hi,

I have started teaching my baby through LR since she was 4 months old. It's about 4 weeks but she doesn't show any interest and looks around room instead of watching the screen.
Any suggestion or comment is appreciated

Cheers,
Arusha

[masterofmayo]

I just started LR with my 8 month old. She's not super enthusiastic, but she's willing. There are a few things that I have found which help.

Time of day is very important. I do her lesson immediately after she wakes (or right after her bottle if she's hungry). She's very mellow at this time and seems willing to sit still. If I try to do it in the middle of her wake, she's very stimulated and does what you describe--she looks around in all directions.

I've also found that if I point and comment to things on screen (ex, "look at the tail on that lizard!"), it draws her attention back to the action.

Also, I give her permission to move around as long as she's watching. I start with her on my lap and the laptop on a desk (far enough away that she can't reach it). Midway through, she often wants to stand. I let her (while holding her) and adjust the screen so that it's facing her.

Finally, it absolutely has to be a distraction free environment. I keep the desk clean and close the door.

Hope this helps. Let me know. 4 months old is young, so that might be half the battle right there. Still, good on you for trying at that age.

[arusha]

Thank you for your reply
Actually, I've tried the things you said except that adding comments to draw her attention I'll try it and let you know the result
Any more comment is welcome

cheers
Arusha

[mybabyian]

I show my son LR while he is nursing.  He watches pretty intently most of the time, but if I just sit him in front of the TV he is not very interested.  If he still is not in the mood I skip through the slides quickly.  That is, on the picture slide where they use the word in the sentence I click the mouse as soon as the picture is shown and skip the sentence.  He likes it a lot better that way.  I read the Doman books that said you need to do the cards fast but I didn't realize how slow I was actually doing them until I saw this video on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/Y6xH3Kg6r60?t=32s  She changes the cards much faster than I realized you could. 

I think you can customize the settings to skip the audio on that slide and it will run faster.  Or you can change the audio file to play just the word and that will be faster too.  I haven't done it though because sometimes he likes it and I think it is good for him to hear the whole sentence. 

Now that he is older we act out the actions too.  He enjoys that a lot and I think it helps him learn better too.  When the lessons are over he now signs and says "more."  So I know he is enjoying it. 

Good luck!

[arusha]

Thank you mybabyian

May I know how old is your baby now and from what age you have started LR for him?

[mybabyian]

He is 15 and a half months.   We have probably been doing it for about three maybe four months.  We are on day 75 of the program but we have sometimes been out of town or skipped weekends when other stuff has been going on.  Otherwise, we are pretty consistent.  We don't ever do more than twice a day since I don't want him to get bored with it.

[Kerileanne99]

So I have a story that you might find helpful...I am actually fairly new to the site, but may offer a slightly different perspective... I started YBCR with my daughter at 10 weeks, feeling like a complete idiot, and being reminded of it constantly!  One day, when daughter was was 10 mo old (8 LONG months of feeling like a fool on a daily basis!), there was a stack of 82 double-sided word cards piled haphazardly in a chair as I cleared off the table...my daughter was amusing herself by tossing them, one-by-one, on the floor! I fan remember being fleetingly irritated, then happy that she was constuctively occupied!
So she gleefully holds up the word "hat.". This was her 1st word for some STRANGE reason, and to much consternation! I remember thinking, "oh,What a coincidence.". I took it from her, Burried it upside-down, and continued about my work. Then, about five minutes later, she gleefully held it up again! And as though saying, "hey, idiot, just to make sure you understand!, she shouted "hat"! At the top of her little lungs!

Needless to say, the dishes did not get done that eve, nor many more after it...I picked out about 20 cards that I had corresponding objects to:  she was too young to speak and didn't have the manual dexterity to sign these words yet...I held up a card and asked her if she wanted to find it: lo,and behold, she did.  Again and again... We dropped YBCR volume one and started on the YCCR series for older kids... So before you worry, wonder if she understands and is just letting you know, in her own way...

I know the idea is not to test.  But sometimes, do so as you know your child better than anyone... Do so in a LOVING, giving manner, and your child will respond accordingly.  Mine LOVES to show me what she knows: occasionally, and when she wants to.  I never trot her out like a trained monkey, and always respect het mood, willingness, and ability...

BTW, my daughter somehow also picked up phonics from all jer 'lessons'... She loves LR, which we only discovered recently, but only because she I'd 'teaching her pet hen to read'... I don't mind as long as she she doesn't!

So, before you despair, realize that you are still early on and your child may well surprise you! Are they bored, as my child was? Or do they just need a way to communicate their knowledge to you? My extremely precocious reader is only now truly speaking! We taught her to sign, and she would sign whole sentences, but rarely speak!
Suddenly, one day, she spoke an eight word sentence to me.  OMG, I nearly cried!

So appreciate your child's genius for what it is, and they will ALWAYS suprise you...yours may be even further along than you could have dreamed, and simply doesn't know how to express it!  Keep plodding along. You are a fantastic mother who wants the best for their child or you would not be reading these words.  We ALL believe in you, your child, and what you are trying to do...

Keep on keeping on, and we will hear amazing things from you soon...

[arusha]

Thank you so much indeed Kerileanne99 
Your comment made me smile and at the same time made tears appear in my eyes. That was the best encouragement.
Actually, English is not my mother-language, though all my friends think that I'm fluent in speaking English. It seems that only I know that I'm terrible. That's why I wish my baby speak it as a mother lang.
I wonder if I can teach her 3 more languages at the same time without making her dizzy

[Kerileanne99]

I am not an expert, but I will say that since we taught her sign language, it has helped tremendously in teaching her another language! We started with sign language at 3 mo, along with YBCR, but I didn't introduce Spanish, Hindi, or French words until she was almost a year old... personally, I found the manual signs to be the key! I could use the same word in different languages, but use the same sign, and she seemed to 'get' it immediately! In fact, two days ago, I told her what the word 'synonym' meant...she thought I meant 'happy' in multiple languages!
Don't be afraid to use any different languages you know... Just explain to her,this is 'X' in Spanish, this is 'x' in Russian, whatever!
One thing....SometimesI wonder if the reason mydaughter didn't speak so much until she was nearly two, other than to combine two-word phrases, was that she was processing the multiple language connections.  If your goal is to teach them to her, then expect to close your ears to those who criticize! They DO understand, it just seems that multilingual kids tend to talk a bit later...then burst out with complex sentences in multiple languages!
Trust your instincts! They have gotten you this far!

[Mela Bala]

Hi Arusha,

I have a similar experience as Kerlieanne99 with teaching my son.  We started with Little Reader, Mandarin and Math when he was 5 months old.  At first he only paid attention to the Math sessions until I was introduced to Readeez Dvds through this forum.  Ever since then his love for words has overtaken everything including his toys.  He actually throws tantrums if we walk past a sign in the store and I do not stop to point (yes I have to point) and read it to him. He always has a book in his hand or is putting a book in my hand to read to him.  He first spoken phrase was "read dvd." You can find coupons for Readeez products at the points redemption section of BrillKids' website or simply go to youtube to watch clips for free.  It was such a hit we decided to buy the dvds.  

I was having trouble showing my son flashcards because he wanted to control the cards himself so I did not flash them as recommended. When he was about 11 months old he got into the storage container that held all his flashcards and everything fell out.  I was a little sad at the task of reorganizing the cards.  But his face lit up like he found a buried treasure and I immediately felt guilty for keeping his flashcards from him for about three weeks.  That was when he started to clap, I thought he was happy until I saw the card that he was looking at said clap.  I cried because I knew he understood the symbols he was looking at meant clap.  I sat with him and flashed through more than 100 words and he pointed to all the body parts and performed all the action words.  

Since then I purchased YBCR and have started introducing him to encyclopedia knowledge and geography.  He can already identify a few of the bigger countries.  He is also learning Mandarin, Hindi and Spanish which has created a speech delay. So we are currently concentrating more on English.  His first word was puppy, apple, hippo, bubbles and now he only speaks about 50 words and counts 1-10 in English and Hindi. Everytime he sees the letter p he says puppy, sees the letter a he says apple, letter h he says hippo, letter b he says bubbles etc.  

Before the fallen flashcard incident I was not sure if any of these programs were working but I kept showing him the lessons because it had become a bonding experience.  I kept thinking it can't hurt to keep exposing him and as I read through previous posts on this forum I saw that many parents have been successful.    

I have learned that through the Doman method it is okay to test your child in a multiple choice situation.  Preschool Prep has ipad apps that serve that purpose and my son finally had a way to show us that he knows more than I could have ever imagined he knew.  I tested him on numbers 1-100 with homemade flashcards and he did great. He he is picking up on phonic sounds which has been helping him speak more.

Have you tried changing the fonts and background colors for your LR lessons?  That helps my son pay attention to his Math lessons.
Have you put labels around your house?  I hold my son and dance with him from label to label singing about them and he loves seeing the labels at his height now.
When I had to draw his attention back to the screen I would act like he was missing out on the most exciting thing ever seen.  Now when he hears the BrillKids voice on his ipad he comes running or when I open the BrillKids icon he gives me a kiss.

I was so concerned and uncertain when I started these programs, I just want to tell you not to worry and have patience every child born is capable of learning at an early age as long as they have someone to teach them.  Every child will communicate differently and just because you do not see any signs their brain is probably just waiting for the communication skills to connect with the knowledge.

[arusha]

Thank you so much Mela for sharing your experience
I couldn't find anything about the DVDs you'd mentioned in Brillbaby could you help me more?
Besides what does YBCR mean?

Thanks again
Arusha

[Mela Bala]

Hi Arusha,

The link to BrillKids' coupon store is

http://www.brillkids.com/coupon-store/index_points_redemption.php

You can find the page by clicking on the Points Redemption link above and choose Spend Loyalty Points
Readeez is on the bottom right

Here is a direct link to Readeez on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/Readeez?blend=4&ob=video-mustangbase

YBCR is an acronym for the Your Baby Can Read Program

 http://www.yourbabycanread.com/home/bundle?clickid=WdR3MzSx7wjI1nI09KX0tyivUkyW2Q1nNwtO0Q0&irpid=20021&irext=&isir=1&irsrc=ppcsearch

[Kerileanne99]

Hi Arusha-
So glad I could cheer you up a bit! It WILL happen...
If you are having trouble deciphering interest, here are a couple of other ideas that my daughter loved...
We also taped word cards to every available surface...to the absolute delight of my daughter and absolute amusement of visitors...I put the same words in two languages, and put up with too many jokes to count.."oh, at least we will always be able to find the toilet at your house!"
I found it incredibly difficult to find decent books with the right words,a reasonable number/variety of words, and without cartoons.(there have been many studies about the effect of cartoon characters on toddler brains and the fact that they not only have to make a connection between the spoken word, the written word, and the object- if you introduce stylized or cartoon pics in the beginning, you are increasing the difficulty and confusion. Especially if you are considering multiple languages!)
So I ended up buying books, then either typing out stories to paste in, or simply labeling objects in her favorites...Like writing in 'bird' or 'tree' or 'monkey' along with the story!   All that typing out of words, then cutting and pasting! It wasn't until she was almost two that I bought a hand-held label-maker that allows me to instantly print out a perfect-sized, terrifically neat sentence, on a self-adhesive strip, that takes all of a minute!  I think mine is called a "P Touch", although I am sure there are tons of these things available.  HUGE time and energy savor, and the end result is much more professional! Also, the edges don't peel up begging little hands to pick...
I also found this alphabet caterpillar? I guess it is this long (about 4 foot) caterpillar with individual pockets for each letter. There is a finger puppet of an animal beginning with each letter inside, and I put this on the wall at her level.  For some reason, this was a key for her...within days she would make the sound of the letter to request each puppet, because she couldn't say the word or animal name...it is like the moment that she figured out that each sound had a letter associated, she begged for YBCR!

I also took a magnetic writing board EVERYWHERE with us! But be prepared for looks and nasty cooments here.  I will never forget writing Elephant for her at the zoo and her going'mental because she got it! (as well as the ridiculous comments from the peanut gallery behind me because I was showing written words to my 8 mo old!

But it all pays off immensely when they show you how much they LOVE what you do with them...my dauhter will drag her drawing board through the house to find me because she wants to see what word looks like...

I am actually able to teach her homonyms and homophones by WRITING them for her! How backwards is that?  For example...at holiday season, she and I were making cookies together, and I told her that the white powder we were using was called flour.  She looked confused, and immediately signed,'flower'! I told her simply that no, this wasadifferent type.  She took off running, covered in various baking residue, and I was less than pleased!  Until she came running back, with her magnetic writing board banging along behind her! I absolutely melted! I wrote the two homophones and she has insisted on making sure that I am aware sh knows the diffence every time we bake..."not flower (insert sign) mommy". An unexpected boon to be sure!!!!

So pick out your child's interests.  For mine it was ducks!  And foster this.  LR, adapted books, signs around the house, whatever...They will respond so much more quickly than you would believe, so be ready with more, more, more material...

One other thing...we never really watch true television, but if it is on, even on the news, we have the closed captions, or subtitles on...Obviously, she didn't start out reading them, but I truly think that it helps them to make the connection between ALL spoken word and written word.  I also had a single children's music video that she watched on extremely rare occasions, and we even have the subtitles on for that...

Anyway, I hope that some of my experiences inspire you to adapt or change them for your own...come to think of it, for all of the absolutely BRILLIANT children I am having the joy of hearing about on this site, there is a truly brilliant and creative parent working quietly behind the scenes with the most amazing ideas...maybe we should have a separate topic within this forum reserved just for sharing those!

Happy Learning!

[arusha]

Thank you all for your comments

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Some other things to try are to connect your computer to a big screen TV and maybe put her in an excersaucer, bouncy chair, or highchair as she gets older. You can give her breakfast or a snack while she does her lessons to help sweeten the pot too.

Also, remember kids have 360 learning at this age! http://figur8.net/baby/2011/05/19/360-degree-learning-children-can-learn-without-looking/

4 weeks is very, very early to want to see results when starting this young. Be prepared to go as much as 6-12 months before seeing "proof" she is learning! She is "frontloading" right now as Dr. Jones says, and may be recognizing words even through it will take her a while to show you. She will blossom in her own time. And as the folks at Shichida recommend, really make an effort to remove the pressure for her to learn or to even look at the screen, she can sense it. So just create a routine that is as natural as brushing your teeth everyday, it's something she will come to expect and then she gets to choose her own level of participation, whether that is staring intently, doing hand motions, or even ignoring it altogether. Of course, sitting her in your lap and making it really enjoyable for her helps too, but if she is very squirmy, then I would try a baby chair. Best of luck!

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